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Endosulfan: the denouement

The Supreme Court has finally said it: no more studies are needed (to establish the link between the broad spectrum pesticide endosulfan and the health effects on people). This is apparently the results of work done by Dr. Mohammed Aisheel and others in compiling a large bibliography of studies on endosulfan besides recent studies by Kerala government and various research establishments.

The studies showed that the endosulfan could cause large number of diseases reported from Kasaragod district of Kerala and Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and the mechanism of action of the pesticide in human body. Studies may still be needed to conclusively establish that some of the diseases manifesting in the district is indeed caused by endosulfan.

A severely handicapped child who is getting assistance as an endosulfan victim

That is, while endosulfan as cause of many diseases is established, it may be more difficult to establish that the very diseases in a person or group are caused by endosulfan. The disease can be caused by other factors and these needed to be eliminated to prove the latter. However, the Supreme Court is satisfied with the evidence at hand and ordered continuing of the nation-wide ban on endosulfan on the basis of the precautionary principle.

It is notable that the Union Agriculture Commissioner maintained in his report prepared for the committee appointed by the Supreme Court that said that the problems were confined to Kerala and Karnataka and recommended ban only in these two States. They had even taken the line of the endosulfan manufacturers that endosulfan is safe to pollinators which goes against the findings of the Kerala Agriculture University.

It is also notable that much of the data and studies linking endosulfan to various diseases were available when the O.P. Dubey and C. D. Mayee committees appointed by the Central government declared that no link had been established between the use of endosulfan in the estates of Plantation Corporation of Kerala and the health problems reported from the Padre village. The Director of Agriculture of Kerala Government, who was a member of the Mayee committee, signed the committee report. This was despite the findings of the expert committee (headed by Dr. P. K. Sivaraman), appointed by the Kerala government, which was before him. The report was submitted in August 2003 and the Director signed the report in December 2004, hardly ten days before then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy visited Kasaragod promising succor to the endosulfan victims.

The victims are yet to get the package promised to them except for sanction given for a project funded by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Though it has been shown that the aerial spraying of endosulfan was done disregarding the rules and without valid requirement for pest management, no action had been taken against any of the officials culpable of poisoning entire villages.